Talk to me about Bristol…

njee20 – Member
Traffic was awful. Cannot describe how awful. Worse than London I’d say.

Not sure about now but I remember Bristol was second only to Bath for how long it took to do 1 mile at rush hour, London was 3rd or 4th.

Grew up in Bristol but moved North @ 30, still have family in the area & own 1/3 of a house on Royal York Crescent(Clifton)

Mr overshoot sounds like a useful contact if you’re after a broom cupboard pied a terre. And having now looked at rightmove for the first time in years I’ll retract my earlier valuation on totterdown which still looks like good value. Redland has gone mad, 750k for a 4 bed terrace!

csb – Member
…Tell us your budget, tenure, work location and needs and well be able to advise better.

Budget? Not enough, clearly.

Location? Somewhere nearish the NE if the centre.

If you’re working in the ne of the city then the area around Frenchay is quite nice and cheaper than the central areas mentioned above. If you mean you want to be ne centre, then horfield and Ashley down are a bit cheaper, but you’ll be living further away from the vibrant areas and nearer rundown areas.

Bristol is ace providing you don’t need to drive anywhere. It has the worst traffic I have ever experienced and has got steadily worse in the 10 years we’ve lived here.

Where are people driving to and from, and at what time, to experience such bad traffic in Bristol? Is it commuting in/out at rush hour?

Controversially, the slow traffic is part of what makes it a cracking cycling city. Seen far fewer bike incidents the last couple of years than there used to be.

csb – Member

Mr overshoot sounds like a useful contact if you’re after a broom cupboard pied a terre.

Actually its a 2 bedroom property on 2 floors with on suite for each 2 bedrooms.
2 kitchens 2 lounges & 2 other rooms & balcony + the most important bit a big garage with automatic door

Wasn’t suggesting it wasn’t palatial, I was thinking you could rent an stw’er a nice affordable spare room, in the style of London broom cupboard horror stories. And yours sound like 2 flats to me! A garage, mmmmmm, I’d love a garage.

I lived there for two years but 15 years ago.
Rented a house in willsbridge, north of Keynsham.
Tended to use the park and ride, when I didn’t need the car for work calls.
Nice enough spot, handy for bath.

Lived here most of my life,and as per the general consensus the ridiculous traffic and RPZ’s/20 mph zones are completely strangling the City if you drive.
On the upside once you manage to escape the City boundaries then an hour in most directions will take you somewhere glorious to ride,Fly up 417 project about to become live too adding a Northerly option the the options

Point made above about resident parking schemes is important for newcomers. If you move to an area covered, or soon to be, you’ll enjoy easier parking for an annual fee. Only local businesses and those with multiple vehicles dislike them. If your looking for a houses hare it might be a factor. And the 20mph zones are a brilliant way of reminding drivers that there’s slower folk (cyclists, pedestrians) around.

Forgot to mention, the mayor is a complete dick! RPZs for the rich in clifton, sod the local businesses and everyone else.

The RPZ made precisely zero difference to me, as it’s only effective between 9-5, when the car is outside my wife’s work anyway. If it was 24/7 i’d be quite happy about it.

but yeah i think the 20mph zones are broadly a good thing. And it’s not as if the flow of traffic in those areas gets much above 20mph at the best of times…

OP – bristol is a great place. depending on what you want consider the likes of Easton, Whitehall, Redfield etc. They’re inner city(ish) areas, formerly a bit run down, but have nice victorian terraces and prices are rapidly going up as people who can’t afford St Andrews etc start moving in. Walkable to town, bikeable to pretty much anywhere, some decent shops.

and to the person asking about the Bear Pit – no, it hasn’t been like that for years in fact. These days there greengrocers, coffee stalls, about 3 restaurants and a general redevelopment vibe. And a load of alkies making still trouble for everyone. But it’s way better than it used to be.

RPZs for the rich in clifton, sod the local businesses and everyone else.

And the rich of st Paul’s and Stapleton and Totterdown? Local businesses that attract trade seem to think it’s great as now shoppers can park. Just stops the commuters jamming up the streets. I certainly find it much easier to stop at the local shops on the way somewhere. There’s certainly a vocal anti mayor group. I’ll be interested to see if they are a minority come election.

Forgot to mention that the Rpz had really pissed off commuters (and their employers) who can’t now park where they like and sod the locals and businesses that need parking turnover. Simply health, a huge organisation that had located in a prestigious building near the downs in Clifton have been very vocal about the Rpz and new parking restrictions on the downs because their staff can’t park for free. So their shitty wage call centre jobs are less appealing….

Many people are missing the point of RPZs. They’re not for the benefit of residents, making it easier for them to park – they are meant to discourage people from driving into the city to work. The major flaw of course is that the public transport into the city is both shit and expensive, so the options for commuters are terrible.

From the point of view of someone who lives thirty miles away from Brizzle, it’s vastly improved from what it was twenty years ago. The whole docks area is almost unrecognisable from back then, the live music situation has really expanded, from being just a couple of venues to loads. Good pubs, increasing number of good local breweries, Colston Yard at the top of Colston Street is great, easy walking distance from the O2 Academy or the Colston Hall if a gig finishes in good time, then there’s the Louisiana and Start The Bus…
Can’t comment on the RPZ’s, but the 20mph limits appear to be a fail in many places; recent checks have shown most vehicles, including police and local authority, are doing 25-28mph. Which is understandable when it includes the likes of the main A420 coming into the city from the east.
I like the city, Broadmead does need razing and completely rebuilding like Cabot Circus, but by and large, there are far worse places to live.

Broadmead does need razing and completely rebuilding like Cabot Circus

Just expand Cribbs.

The 20mph limits work – all those caught doing 25-28mph would likely have been doing 35-38mph in a 30 zone, so it’s an improvement, right?

Big up the 20mph limit – and RPZs. 🙂

As I said, life on four wheels is hard around here – but great on two. (Coming from a repentant petrolhead).

It’s a good city to live in, whether you’re single or attached or with children.
As said before, rush hour driving is slow but it’s OK outside those hours. The bus services are noticeably better than even a couple of years ago, and the residents’ parking zone (RPZ) means that residents , shoppers , tradesmen can park easily, but commuters from outside the city are having to think about how to manage.
The main problems in Bristol have been due to a political antagonism between the city proper, and South Glos council which controls the northern suburbs and seems to delight in stuffing Bristol City’s efforts to make the place better.

Bring back CUBA !

LOL everyone who lives in bedminster says they
live in southville.

I live in Bedminster.

I live in Bedminster

yeah, a lot of people living in Knowle West say that.

I’m in Montpelier and I’m 15-20 mins ride from Ashton Court/Leigh Woods. RPZ are great as it stops the idiot commuters leaving their cars and in residential areas close to the centre and hopefully encourages them to travel in another way.

All for the 20mph zones. Car drivers tend to stick to it IMO as I have seen the speeds drop on the Gloucester Road (A38). Seem to be more parents commuting by bike with their kids to my daughters school too. Also encourgaes cycling and I see lots of bikes going up and down the Gloucester road now.

Pollution is crap in the city but luckily the city isn’t that big and you can get into the countryside pretty quickly. Lots of great riding nearby such as the Mendips, Wales, Quantocks, Exmoor etc…or stuff on the doorstep.

Property is expensive but you can still get decent housing if you are prepared to live a little further away from the centre.

Also a great variety of bike shops. I can think of 6 withing a mile and a half of my home.

Lived there for 8yrs and loved it. We had both our kids there and it’s a fantastic place to bring up kids. Everything is really handy. I’d go back in heartbeat if I didn’t need to be in the South East for work. I think the traffic issues are being over exaggerated. Sure, if you try and drive through the centre at 8.30am you won’t get anywhere quickly but most towns and cities are similar imo. Also a great place if you love bikes. Weather wise, I had a colleague who said it was “tropical” which is a good description. Warmer and wetter than a lot of the U.K. There is an international airport 20 mins from town which is great for getting away. The general vibe is very relaxed. Go for a long weekend and check it out though. Im sure you’ll like it.

yeah, a lot of people living in Knowle West say that.

Another subtle joke trampled…

Another subtle joke trampled…

Yeah what a git, it was really hilarious too.

Yeah what a git, it was really hilarious too.

Almost as funny as the one about people in Bedminster pretending to be in Southville. Gosh, I remember when I first heard that 15 years ago: laugh? I nearly did.

Almost as funny

Yeah, almost.

Yeah, almost.

Perhaps you could regale us with some more of your erudite bon mots: I for one am pregnant with anticipation.

I’m tempted, just to give you the opportunity to demonstrate your razor sharp wit. Again. 😉

I’m tempted, just to give you the opportunity to demonstrate your razor sharp wit. Again.

Do hurry, please. The edge of my seat is becoming uncomfortable.

Move your head then.

Anyway, OP: Bristol’s great, and we’re a tolerant lot. We even put up with Wrecker.

Bristol’s great, and we’re a tolerant lot

BTW, I’ve lived in bristol all my life, we even let uptight, dour demeanored blow-ins live here, but they are ruining the vibe of the place. I suppose that’s the price of tolerance, eh?

We even put up with Wrecker.

Ah, the famed ransos wit. I knew you couldn’t hold it in.